


Reassurance

by Salt_Queen



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Space Pirates, Banter, Established Relationship, Fluff, Lotor's Knife Kink, M/M, Reassurances, Slight Hurt/Comfort, and they're space pirates, but the hurt isn't between them don't worry, but yeah it's keitor, i just knew that if i didn't stop there i'd get too invested and never post anything, i just took the characters i like and the dynamics that i like and stuffed them here, i might write more for this AU tbh, in this AU i mean because this is like a lil oneshot i wrote for it that doesn't really go in depth, let this be a motivator for myself to keep writing for this AU, ngl this is kinda inspired by guardians of the galaxy, no relationship drama in my house, season 6?? who's that?? i don't know her, so just imagine it in that aesthetic, soft keitor, this has like nothing to do with canon, together with the galra girl gang
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-08
Updated: 2018-07-08
Packaged: 2019-06-06 23:41:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,915
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15206039
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Salt_Queen/pseuds/Salt_Queen
Summary: Their job had been successful, well successfulenough, so why did Lotor seem... quiet?In which Keith notices something is wrong and has a heart-to-heart with his boyfriend in the dead of night. It's not like either of them were sleeping, anyway.





	Reassurance

**Author's Note:**

> Ok so this is an AU that keeps breaking into my house at night (it just really really wants me to write it, srsly) so I decided to finally give in and give it a shot. I've thought quite a lot about this AU but this is pretty short because my attention span is like 3 seconds. But I'm probably gonna write more for it at some point... Anyway, have at it: the keitor gotg inspired AU that nobody asked for (except for my brain with incredibly specific requests)

Keith found Lotor sitting on the floor by the large back window of their ship, looking out at the passing nebulae. The green and blue hues of the nearest source of light reflected off his hair, making it seem iridescent. He was still wearing his knee-high boots and light leather armor. Come to think of it, he never seemed to change out of it in waking hours.

Despite the peaceful swirling of the void beyond the window, despite their recent successful escape from the Kaavans…

It had been quite the timely escape, at that. Ezor had tripped a hidden alarm during her quest to steal them a few vats of Hyperfuel, for their own purposes and to sell on the black market, while the rest of them pretended to take a job from the Kaavan ruler to hunt and kill some giant space monster. The usual, had it not been for the fact that the Empire had joined the party to make their escape even _more_ of a pain in Keith’s ass than it would have been anyway. They had managed, though.  
There was no reliable way to determine what planet might get visited by an Imperial patrol and once one cruiser sensed danger, reinforcements soon followed.

All in all, the operation could have gone a lot better, but also a lot worse, considering the number of battleships that had jumped out of hyperspace.

But despite their victory, Lotor seemed to be looking out at the stars and sulking.

Keith sat down next to him and Lotor startled, so deep in thought he hadn’t noticed the presence of someone else in the small space.

“Keith.” Lotor relaxed almost imperceptibly. “I wasn’t expecting company.”

He sighed. “Alright, what’s wrong?”

Lotor looked over at him, smiling wistfully. “Always so direct. I admire that about you, you know. The way you don’t dance around the information at hand.” His smile fell as he looked out at the endless colors beyond the window again. 

It was silent for a long time, but Keith didn’t mind. Lotor’s silences were always comfortable. Come to think of it, almost everything about Lotor made Keith feel comfortable: his smile, his wit, his dry humor, the way he gasped slightly when Keith ran his fingers through his hair… This thing between them was still new, barely a few months old, but it didn’t feel that way. It felt _right_ , somehow, like something permanent in their ever-changing universe, something they could cling to when the world crumbled around them.

“Yeah, well, honesty isn’t exactly the most useful skill in our line of work,” he said teasingly. “I’d much rather be able to lie through my teeth with a smirk on my face.” He wrapped an arm around Lotor’s waist and leaned his head on his shoulder. 

Lotor’s lips twitched, hiding a smile. 

He seemed to argue with himself for a moment before coming to a decision and reaching into one of his pockets, bringing out a sleek metal rectangle he held it up for Keith to inspect.

“Do you know what this is?” His voice was solemn.

“It _looks_ like a communicator but you sound like it personally victimized you and plotted to murder your family, so I assume it’s something else.”

“You’re not wrong. It’s functionally very similar to a communicator, albeit this is significantly rarer and more expensive because of its additional functions. It’s untraceable, for one, but it can establish a direct connection to the empire from anywhere in the known universe. The only people that have both the necessity and the means for a device like this are imperial bounty hunters. I assume the person I _nicked_ this one from was one.”

Keith was fascinated by the small device in Lotor’s hand. An untraceable connection from anywhere in the universe. It sounded like an impossible feat. Still, he failed to see where Lotor was going with this or what it was that actually troubled him.

“Bounty hunters are everywhere, though. Granted, an imperial one is a rare sight but we’ve managed to evade them for years. Why do you think they’re gonna be a problem _now_?”

Lotor took a deep breath through his nose. “Keith, these aren’t just used to send the whereabouts of fugitives to the Empire, they also receive classified information _from_ them. The hunter I ran through with my sword appears to have had exceptionally high security clearance.”

Keith narrowed his eyes. “How can you tell?”

In lieu of responding Lotor pressed his thumb onto the smooth metal and a hologram popped up. It was a list of names. Keith wasn’t dense, he knew there was exactly one possible type of list on a bounty hunter’s device: a wanted list. Before he could even begin to read the first name Lotor had already enlarged it to display the whole profile. Keith stared at the hologram disbelievingly and promptly rose to his feet. Anger churned in his gut, mingling with confusion and a hint of fear. He pinched the bridge of his nose as he began pacing.

“Why? Why would he want you back _now_? It makes no sense! He’s been ignoring you for _years_ now. He disowned you and he cast you out and he threatened to execute you if you ever set foot in his territory again and now he wants you alive?” Keith eyed the warrant again. “ _Unharmed?_ What the fuck is that supposed to mean?”

Lotor caught his wrist in a smooth motion and squeezed gently. He looked at him for a long moment, the only sound Keith’s heavy breathing. Lotor exhaled heavily, looking away. “Please sit back down,” he said quietly. Keith, despite the rage churning in his gut, managed to do so, facing Lotor this time. His anger wasn’t directed at him, after all.

“Keith, I… I have to go. I can’t let them get to you. Any of you. It’ll only get worse. The only reason why Kaavan didn’t turn into an ambush is that it’s so far removed from everything. That bounty hunter probably notified the Empire the second he saw me and there’ll be more of them wherever we end up going and–”

“Stop.” Keith leaned over and cupped Lotor’s face in his hands. There was such a raw mix of emotions in his eyes: anger, sorrow, guilt, and fear. They seemed to cloud his vision. “Stop,” he repeated. “You’re not going anywhere. We all have bounties on our heads, so what? We’ve had those for quite some time, this is no different–”

“It _is_ , Keith. None of those bounties stretch more than a few quadrants and they’re not exceptionally high either. Make no mistake, they _will_ end up finding me. The only question is if they’ll get me alone or if they get me _and_ the only people in the universe that will make me comply if they hurt them. I’m aiming for the former.”

He looked so tired, defeated. Like he was out of options.

Keith tilted Lotor’s head so he was looking at him again and spoke softly. “They’ll have to catch us first.”

Lotor placed his hands over Keith’s. “I can’t have anyone else I care about on my conscience. I couldn’t live with myself.”

“Well, I couldn’t live with myself if I allowed you to run from the Empire alone. He’s doing this so that you’ll do his work for him and turn yourself in and I won’t let that happen. If I have to personally handcuff you to the passenger seat I will do it. Zethrid and Ezor will probably help me if I suggest it.”

Lotor’s eyes filled with playful challenge. “You know I would simply free myself.”

Keith snorted. “Yeah, right. How could I forget? The infamous White-Haired Demon. No prison can hold him.” There was a theatrical lilt to his voice.  
“Don’t act like you don’t have your own share of ridiculous nicknames.”

Keith poked him teasingly in the ribs. “They’re not half as ridiculous as yours.”

“Oh, really? I’ll keep that in mind the next time we visit Rylla, _Ashbringer_.”

“That was _one_ time.”

Lotor let out a hearty chuckle and some of the tension seemed to fade from his frame. Keith prided himself in his ability to cheer him up, considering that even the rest of the team didn’t know how to do that most of the time.

When the silence had stretched out long enough Keith decided to speak up again. “Lotor?”

“Yes, Keith?”

“Please don’t go. Please I… I know it probably sounds selfish and reckless and impulsive and a whole lot of other things but I don’t care about the danger. I don’t care if we end up dead or worse I just–” He took a shaky breath. “We deserve to be here. Together. And if the time comes when we have to fight for each other again, then we will. I will not let them take this from us.”

“The others–”

“They’ve partially known you longer than I have and they knew what they were getting themselves into back then. We’re all ride or die, Lotor, you can’t get rid of us that easily. We take care of each other and that includes you.” Keith’s eyes were filled with so much honesty and concern. Lotor tried to look away but Keith gently caught his chin.

“500k, Keith. Do you know what people might be willing to do for a sum like that?”

“We’ll deal with it. It takes a lot to surprise our little unit, don’t forget that.”

“I can’t...” He squeezed Keith’s hand. “I can’t ask you to–”

Keith cut him off. “You’re not. You’re not _asking_ me to do this.” He shook his head. “What would you do if I was in your position? What would you do if I told you that, to protect you, I would put myself in danger like that?”

Finally, there was acceptance in Lotor’s gaze. He would probably have already gone through with the threat of gratuitous passenger-seat-handcuffing and he knew it.  
Lotor closed his eyes and exhaled through his nose. “You’re right. I wish you weren’t, but you are.”

“Thank you,” he said, a slight arrogant tilt to his voice.

“…but–”

Before he could begin to elaborate yet another factually based reason why he should be left to die on the nearest barren space rock he was silenced by Keith’s lips pressed against his.

After a few seconds Keith pulled away. He had accomplished his goal, after all.

Lotor was left gasping and slightly flustered. A great look on him, Keith thought.

“You… make an excellent point, darling.”

“And you talk too much,” Keith said as he rose and started pulling Lotor toward their shared room. “So 500k, huh? It appears I have an incredibly expensive boyfriend.” He playfully bumped their hips together.

Lotor snorted. “Oh, please. Says the person with a knife collection worth a king’s ransom.”

Keith looked at him suggestively. “You weren’t complaining about it last night,” he said, raising an eyebrow.

“Alright, I admit I dug that hole for myself,” Lotor replied, raising his hands in mock-surrender, which made Keith giggle.

“Come on, let’s go to bed,” he said, hoping Lotor would follow.

“Keith?” His voice was quiet, contemplative.

“Yeah?”

“Thank you.” The relief emanating from the two syllables was palpable.

Keith smiled softly. “Any time. I love you, you know that, right?”

Lotor’s face split into a smile. “I love you too,” he said, and allowed Keith to lead him away.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading  
> I thrive on validation so hit that Kudos button if you liked it ♥ and leave me a comment ☺  
> Come talk to me on [tumblr](https://myhyperfixations.tumblr.com/)


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